Bookmarks for February 2nd through February 8th

Dan Ariely: Bonuses boost activity, not quality – In one [experiment] we gave subjects tasks that demanded attention, memory, concentration and creativity. We asked them, for example, to assemble puzzles and to play memory games while throwing tennis balls at a target. We promised about a third of them one day’s pay if they performed well. Another third were promised two weeks’ pay. The last third could earn a full five months’ pay. (Before you ask where you can participate in our experiments, I should tell you that we ran this study in India, where the cost of living is relatively low.)What happened? The low-and medium-bonus groups performed the same. The big-bonus group performed worst of all.